adidas Lillard 2 Primeknit Performance Review

Dame Time!

What’s good everybody! it’s been a long break but now we’re back at it! We’re a little late to the Lillard 2 party but we’re still gonna give you our thoughts about the shoe. Everyone’s been buzzing about it so we had to see it for ourselves. Dame was in Manila a few weeks back for the adidas Take On Summer Tour and brought in two new colorways of the Lillard 2 — Oakland A’s and PDX Carpet. Both feature Primeknit uppers and Bounce cushioning. Thank you to the NBA Store PH for hooking us up with the Oakland A’s colorway, now let’s get right to it!

CUSHIONING

adidas did good with this one. The Lillard 2 features Bounce cushioning and as the name says, it is pretty bouncy! Loved this right from the start. Right off the box it felt comfortable and you know you have a lot of cushioning under your foot. Definitely a step up from the Lillard 1. On the court it was awesome. Lots of cushioning around the heel for impact protection and enough bounce on the forefoot which I always look for in a basketball shoe. The cushioning might feel and look thick but you’ll still get solid court feel. The Drose 6 is still thicker. Overall, I really enjoyed this setup, maybe even better than adidas’ current boost setups. The Crazylight 2016 just dropped and features full-length zoom so lets see how that goes. But for now, if adidas isn’t gonna use boost, I hope they just use bounce on all their other Basketball models. It’s just that good!

FIT

Better fit than the Lillard 1. Waaaaaay Better. The Lillard 2 fits true to size and can handle some wide footers. I heard some even went half a size down for that snug fit, so I think it’s best to drop by the store and check them out for yourselves. First, let’s start with the heel. For those who had the Lillard 1, remember how your heel would be all over the place? True to size, half size down, it didn’t matter. This time around, that heel lockdown is just solid. You have a large heel counter that wraps around the sides of your foot and keeps it there all day. I can really feel like there’s something holding on to my heel so it wouldn’t slip but still not restricting my movements. Lockdown was also amazing on this one. The lacing system around the collar wraps around your ankle and keeps your foot glued to the bed at all times. Midfoot straps also help contain the foot so you’re locked in all day. The shoe also features a one piece neoprene bootie which is well padded so that you can pull on your laces tight without hurting any part of your foot. The best part is the rest of the shoe is made of Primeknit! You get awesome lockdown and comfort overall.

MATERIALS

Best part of the shoe other than the cushioning. Primeknit! Those are the magic words. I personally love playing in knit uppers and the Lillard 2 does a good job in that department once again. It’s soft, it moves with your foot, but it’s still supportive. And the best part is it’s just the right price! Really bang for your buck. Other parts of the shoe are covered in leather and rubber overlays for that added support and containment, while a neoprene bootie hugs your foot in tight.

TRACTION

The shoe features a multidirectional herringbone pattern mixed in with some storytelling design along the forefoot. For this colorway, one shoe says ‘Oak’ and the other has ‘Land’. Traction was really good and I didn’t have any issues with slipping on all my runs. The grooves are pretty close to each other though which makes it prone for small dust and dirt particles to get stuck in between. On clean courts there really wasn’t any problem and these stuck to the floor like glue. You don’t have to worry about sudden stops and change in direction. I haven’t tried them outdoors but I think I wouldn’t want to since the rubber is pretty shallow. I think you’ll burn through these right away when you hoop outdoors. Overall, traction was awesome!

SUPPORT

Another improvement from last year’s model. As mentioned earlier, the support comes mostly from the excellent fit and lockdown. A large heel counter holds your heel in tight and keeps it from moving at any time. The lacing system and midfoot lockdown was excellent and the straps just kept your foot right on the footbed all day. You still have that midfoot shank for stability and an outrigger for added ankle protection.

Overall, the Lillard 2 is a beast! Everything they did wrong with the 1 they corrected and improved on with the 2s. Excellent cushioning system, lockdown, and materials. Primeknit! That’s right. And yeah, the price ain’t bad too. If you get the regular mesh models they’re even cheaper too without sacrificing comfort. I really loved playing in these and they easily crack my top 5 that’s currently out in the market. I just feel bad that I didn’t try and get them earlier!

If you want to grab a pair, the D Lillard 2 Primeknit Oakland is available now at the NBA Store Glorietta for P6,995.

adidas D Lillard 2 Primeknit - P6,995

Cushioning

Fit

Materials

Traction

Support

OVERALL:

The Kyrie 2 is a fast, low to the ground shoe with solid fit and lockdown and is perfect for guards.